“You seem to be in a happy mood, Michael,” Victor Parkins said as I walked in the office dancing to ‘Pump it Up’ by Endor.

“Man, the playoffs are here, and did you see some of those results last week?” I laughed.

“I got to see Milan’s third straight shutout of the season,” Parkins replied.

“I mean Milan’s defense, South Gibson’s dominance and Peabody pulling out the win on the road,” I said. “And that was only in Gibson County.”

“Yea, Gibson County teams did well,” Parkins smirked.

“And what else went well?” I said. “That’s right. My picks!”

“OK, that’s enough,” Parkins said as he turned around in his chair. “Don’t you have some work to do?”

I beat Parkins by two games last week and took a five-game lead on him through 12 weeks of picks.

We both missed Middle College’s win over Humboldt, and Parkins missed Peabody’s win over Mitchell as I went 3-1 in picking Gibson County games, while Parkins went 2-2.

For the season, I am 45-10 (.818 winning percentage), while Parkins is 43-12 (.782) with Gibson County area games.

Outside of the county, we both missed Lexington’s win over Haywood, while Parkins also missed Greenfield’s win over Oakhaven.

Through 12 weeks, I am 137-40 (.774) and Parkins is 132-45 (.746) with our West Tennessee picks.

Here is hoping for more success in the second round of the playoffs:

Mt. Pleasant (9-2) at Milan (10-0)

The Bulldogs have shutout three straight opponents going into the second round of the Class 2A playoffs. Mt. Pleasant has a better offense than the last three opponents but expect the defense to come up big.

Odom’s Pick: Milan 32, Mt. Pleasant 14

Vic’s Pick: Milan 38, Mt. Pleasant 14

Spring Hill (5-5) at South Gibson (8-3)

The Hornets are playing against a freshman quarterback, so expect to see Yahya Gaad in the backfield quite a bit as the Hornets try to make a trip to the Class 4A quarterfinals.

Odom’s Pick: South Gibson 28, Spring Hill 16

Vic’s Pick: South Gibson 35, Spring Hill 21

Peabody (9-2) at East Robertson (11-0)

While the Golden Tide ended a two-game skid last week, they now go against one of the favorites to win the Class 2A playoffs. East Robertson has lots of weapons, so Tab Vowell will have to have a big scheme up his sleeve.

Odom’s Pick: East Robertson 27, Peabody 18

Vic’s Pick: East Robertson 38, Peabody 28

Best of the West

Class 1A

Fayetteville (5-5) at Dresden (9-2)

Odom’s Pick: Dresden

Vic’s Pick: Dresden

Greenfield (7-4) at McKenzie (10-1)

Odom’s Pick: McKenzie

Vic’s Pick: McKenzie

South Fulton (9-2) at Richland (9-2)

Odom’s Pick: Richland

Vic’s Pick: South Fulton

Class 2A

Huntingdon (10-1) at Lewis County (10-1)

Odom’s Pick: Huntingdon

Vic’s Pick: Huntingdon

Class 3A

Westmoreland (6-5) at Westview (10-0)

Odom’s Pick: Westview

Vic’s Pick: Westview

Sycamore (7-4) at Covington (10-1)

Odom’s Pick: Covington

Vic’s Pick: Covington

Dyersburg (7-4) at Fairview (9-2)

Odom’s Pick: Dyersburg

Vic’s Pick: Fairview

Class 4A

Dyer County (9-2) at Marshall County (7-3)

Odom’s Pick: Dyer County

Vic’s Pick: Dyer County

Crockett County (9-2) at Pearl Cohn (7-4)

Odom’s Pick: Pearl Cohn

Vic’s Pick: Pearl Cohn

Lexington (8-3) at Springfield (10-1)

Odom’s Pick: Springfield

Vic’s Pick: Springfield

Division II-A

DCA (7-4) at USJ (9-1)

Odom’s Pick: USJ

Vic’s Pick: USJ

MTCS (6-3) at TCA (9-2)

Odom’s Pick: TCA

Vic’s Pick: TCA

Michael Odom is the sports editor for the Mirror-Exchange, Weakley County Press, Brownsville States-Graphic and Fayette Falcon. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @GCSportsWriter. Reach him by email at michaelodom@milanmirrorexchange.com.